A Picture of Destiny
by Alc Fluteo
Summary: Hiro receives a painting that changes his life and realizes that perhaps he missed some things about his future self.  HiroClaire pairing


**Title**: A Picture of Destiny  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Hiro recieves a painting that changes his life and realizes that perhaps he missed some things about his future self.  
**Comments:** Written after re-watching _Five Years Gone_ and noticing that Future Hiro reacts a little...differently when he hears that Claire is, in fact alive. Considered AU because of a few things mentioned and has spoliers for something involving Hiro in Season 2. Pairing Hiro/Claire

* * *

The package had arrived earlier that day, by care of Peter Petrelli himself. Hiro had wondered why the younger Petrelli brother was giving _him_ a package but the younger had only shook his head and told Hiro a tale of a woman. 

"I was…close to her. But Isaac, you know the painter? He…accidentally shot her, and she died in both of our arms. She sold all of Isaac's paintings regularly but for some reason she'd kept this one with a note attached to it for me. Once I saw it I figured…I figured you might want to have it Hiro. I think it's your _**destiny**_ to have this painting." Peter had left the small room that Hiro was staying in at the Petrelli mansion before Hiro could even get a word in edge wise.

As the room's door closed with a soft click Hiro pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned to look over his shoulder at the packaged painting leaning up against the bed.

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In later days, months, and years after Hiro would look back at that one moment and wonder if destiny was trying to play some other cruel joke on him, if destiny wasn't trying to _tell him something_ that should've been as clear as day.

He hadn't even had a chance to **meet** the cheerleader that he was so instrumental in saving. He didn't even know her _name_ and yet fate seemed to want to entwine her and her life with his in ways which made his head spin and left him subconsciously always wondering why.

He remembered when they came back from five years in the future; Ando had told him about things that had happened while he'd been interrogated. About how Future Hiro was the way he was because Ando had died and that Peter suspected that he'd wanted to change the past so that Ando would still be alive.

Ando had mentioned that they had gone to meet the cheerleader's father and that Future Hiro and he had seemed like very old friends. But the thing that had caught Hiro off guard was the description of his actions when he'd been told that the cheerleader _was_ alive and was trying to stay hidden.

Ando had described his future self's face as serene, calm, and happy. But the way that he had talked about it made it seem to Hiro that his future self was also thinking something else, was also experiencing some other emotion that he wouldn't have normally shown to anyone.

Hiro decided, after a few hours of pondering, that he'd open the painting now, and see what was so significant about it that had made Peter decide to give it to him. He wondered briefly if it was simply another painting of him, perhaps from when he had stabbed Sylar. Or maybe it was something about Ando? Even Hiro the time traveler could not know, though he had the feeling that it was something completely unexpected.

Working carefully, Hiro used his sword and cut the string holding the paper around the painting together. Sheathing his weapon, Hiro picked up the painting and started to carefully unwrap it, afraid that if he made the slightest wrong move, that things would unravel and something horrible might happen.

Crumpled brown paper and string at his feet, Hiro peeked out from under closed eyelids and nearly dropped the painting in surprise.

He was staring at himself. Or rather, Hiro was staring at several pictures of himself. The painting was of a floor, or desk, or table; for he could not be sure what it quite was other than it was some dark wood, covered in photographs. Hiro thought of this as somewhat odd, considering Isaac's paintings were never anything of this nature. Usually they were grand depictions of battles, or scenes of people of great importance. Not that he wasn't important to the grand scheme of the whole fate of the world, but usually the paintings depicted Peter or Claire and not himself.

However, the fact that the painting was different is not what surprised Hiro. It was the _people_ in the various pictures all over the canvas that surprised him.

One was a woman, with dark brown hair and warm eyes. She had a dazzling smile and seemed happy to be with the person that shared the pictures with her. The young woman looked familiar, however, it wasn't until he examined her more closely that he figured out that it was _**the cheerleader**_ that was sharing the pictures and smiling and laughing and looking just plain content with the other person pictured.

Hiro pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose once again as he gulped. The second figure in the pictures is one that had never appeared in any of Isaac's drawings or paintings, or at least, one that had never appeared in them in this sense.

Hiro had been shocked and surprised when he'd met his future self in person; so stoic and hardened by the weight of living in a world he could have prevented. It shocked Hiro even more to see his future self in the various pictures depicted in the painting with the cheerleader.

However, the Future Hiro in these pictures was not quite so stoic. He was _smiling_, he was _serene_, and Hiro realized that this must have been what Ando saw when his future self had learned of Claire's survival.

This Future Hiro was happy, he was content, he was something more like his younger self.

How many pictures…how many events and meetings were shown here in the strange and wonderful painting that had been presented to him? As Hiro adjusted his hands on the edge of the painting his fingertips brushed along something stuck to the back of the canvas. Gingerly pulling off the post-it note Hiro looked at it with a quizzical expression.

The handwriting was definitely Ando's but the words and the meanings behind them clearly were not that of Hiro's best friend. Scrawled hurriedly at the bottom Hiro noticed the name Peter and he smiled. Peter had probably guessed that Hiro could not read English and had asked Ando to write a note for him.

Looking again at the familiar kanji that his friend had written, Hiro was once again shocked at the message that he found.

_You told us to "Save the Cheerleader. Save the world."_

_and we have done that. It's now up to you to save_

_the heart of the one that you risked it all to tell us to_

_save. Here's to hoping that your future will look as_

_bright as these pictures show. Destiny seems to want_

_to bring the two of you together, I just hope that destiny_

_knows what it's got in store if this happens Hiro._

_Take care of my Niece._

_Peter_

Placing the note carefully beside him, Hiro digested the words, and once again fell into the painting and the scenes it showed. As he gazed on the scenes of him and the cheerleader, a few pictures he had not noticed at the top corner caught his eye.

In one, the cheerleader was kissing Hiro's future self on the cheek and as Hiro glanced up in the mirror he noticed that he was as red faced as his painted counterpart. The second picture showed Future Hiro and the cheerleader nuzzling and smiling happily. Hiro smiled as he noticed the blissful expressions on the two's faces. The third painting showed the two kissing and Hiro blushed again and looked away slightly as he pushed his glasses back up.

Setting the painting on the bed beside his sword and the note Hiro stood up and walked over to the window. Moving the curtains slightly aside he wondered if perhaps destiny had tried to test him previously.

First there had been Charlie, wonderful and happy and caring. Afraid to let people to far in or too close, but at the same time not being able to help making friends with everyone she came into contact with.

Second had been the princess. She had been similar to Charlie in a way in that she was caring and kind but she had also tried to be honest and tell people her feelings and what was going on in her head rather than holding it all in like Charlie had.

Maybe destiny wanted to see if he was ready to start the relationship that was apparently meant for the cheerleader and himself.

But how was it supposed to start? He didn't even know her name! He hadn't even met her yet and already destiny was telling him that the two of them were meant to be.

Hiro rested his forehead on the glass of the window and as the coolness started seeping into his skin he saw a car pull up into the drive way. A young girl stepped out and the door was closed behind her. She looked at her surroundings and walked up to the door and into the mansion.

Hiro sighed, closed his eyes, and pushed himself off of the glass. He pushed his glasses back up the ridge of his nose and glanced at the painting again, at the happiness that was in his future, and how the two just seemed so _right_ together.

Hiro glanced at the door and let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He'd start off with meeting the cheerleader, and since she'd just walked in the door of the mansion, he figured that now was as good a time as any to try and meet her; then he'd let the rest of destiny take it course.

As he turned the handle, he took one last look at the painting and smiled before closing the door behind him and starting his walk down the stairs and to the young woman that destiny wanted him to be with.

Perhaps by saving the cheerleader and there-by saving the world, he'd in fact saved himself from some of the pain that his future self had gone through.


End file.
